Winter at home
You might be a redneck if: It never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase, ‘One nation, under God.’
You might be a redneck if: You’ve never protested about seeing the 10 Commandments posted in public places.
You might be a redneck if: You still say ‘ Christmas’ instead of ‘Winter Festival.’
You might be a redneck if: You bow your head when someone prays.
You might be a redneck if: You stand and place your hand over your heart when they play the National Anthem.
You might be a redneck if: You treat our armed forces veterans with great respect, and always have.
You might be a redneck if: You’ve never burned an American flag, nor intend to.
You might be a redneck if: You know what you believe and you aren’t afraid to say so, no matter who is listening.
You might be a redneck if: You respect your elders and raised your kids to do the same.
You might be a redneck if: You’d give your last dollar to a friend.
According to legend, coffee was discovered in the Kingdom of Kaffa by a goat-herder who noticed that his goats were dancing after eating the tasty red berries of the coffee bush.
The red berries (cherries) of the coffee plant.
According to Wikipedia, “It was in Yemen that coffee beans were first roasted and brewed as they are today. From Mocha, coffee spread to Egypt and North Africa, and by the 14th century, it had reached the rest of the Middle East, Persia and Turkey. From the Muslim world, coffee drinking spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe, and coffee plants were transported by the Dutch to the East Indies and to the Americas.” Today, coffee is considered the worlds most popular beverage. More than 400 billion cups are consumed each year. It is a world commodity that is second only to oil. And very important in the morning!
Donna Lawicki, a Quiltersbee member from Michigan, gave me permission to share this poem with you. She uses it on her label.
Quiltersbee.com
The Little Quilt
I’ve made this little quilt for you,
To bring you some holiday cheer.
And every time you take it out,
You’ll know that I am near.
Use it to warm your chilly toes,
On a cold,and drafty night.
Or drape it on the dinner table,
To make your party festive & bright.
Then again, you might just decide,
To put it down and skirt your tree.
A special touch for Christmas Eve,
Color galore for “Santa” to see.
Now my eyes have gone bad,
And the brain’ is a little slow.
But this persistent, stubborn Mom,
Continues to want to sew.
The quilting isn’t always perfect
Lines not quite straight on every row.
But “each stitch” was made with LOVE,
I just wanted you to know!
May you have many happy holidays!
Are you up early (or late) doing your Christmas baking? Check out the recipes on this website
EverSoEasy Fruitcake
The fruitcake recipe pictured above has been my favorite for years – what is your favorite recipe?
The poem that inspired that phrase was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) He wrote it on Christmas Day 1864, during the civil war. His wife Fanny had died just two years earlier and his son Charles, a lieutenant in the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry, had been wounded And yet, he wrote a beautiful and hopeful poem. The stanzas were slightly rearranged in 1872 by John Baptiste Calkin (1827-1905) who also added the tune and gave us the carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”.
Here are the original words to the poem. You can hear them spoken in this touching video.
Christmas Bells
I HEARD the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”
Christmas Tree
How did our other customs come about? Click here to watch a video from the History Channel.
The The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a bi-national United States and Canadian organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America. As such, they are always the first to spot Santa and track his journeys. You can keep an eye on him here – there is even a google gadget you can download, and a facebook fan club you can join! Track Santa here.
The Quilter’s Night Before Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas,
And the quilts were not made.
The threads were all tangled,
the cookies delayed.
.
The stocking weren’t hung,
the pantry was bare.
The poor weary Quilter,
was tearing her hair.
.
Stacks of fat quarters,
tipped over in streams.
Visions of Log Cabins,
had turned into dreams.
.
When what to her wondering eyes should appear,
But a bus full of quilters with all of their gear.
They went straight to work with just a few mutters,
Sorting and stitching and brandishing cutters.
.
The patterns emerged from all of the clutter,
Like magic the fabrics arranged in a flutter.
Log Cabins, Lone Stars, Flying Geese and Bear Tracks -
Each quilt was a beauty – even the backs.
.
Her house how it twinkled,
her quilts how they glowed.
The cookies were baking,
the stockings were sewed.
.
Their work was all done,
so they folded their frames,
And packed up their needles,
without giving their names.
.
They boarded the bus,
and checked the next address.
More quilts to be made,
another quilter in distress.
.
She heard one voice echo,
as they drove out of sight,
Happy quilting to all and
to all a good night!
.
Author Unknown
I am working on the website tonight, putting a whole bunch of fabric on sale for $5 a yard in the desperate hope I won’t have to count it next week:-)) Check out our Sale Fabrics
Local guild members were featured in this video on CNN that follows a quilt from makers to the actual soldier who received it. His plans were to keep it close to him:-))
